Your Money.

Play The Numbers Game On College Costs

If college bills have snuck up on you, don't panic. Parents in the '90s have the best opportunity since World War II to bargain down the price of their child's first-choice college.

A quick look at the statistics explains why: The number of freshmen entering the nation's 1,810 four-year accredited colleges has fallen 6 percent since 1989 to fewer than 1.2 million, principally because of a shrinking pool of prospective applicants as the population of 18-year-olds declined.

Roughly 2.3 million teens have graduated from public high schools each year so far this decade, down from a peak of 2.8 million in 1979; those numbers are expected to rise steadily after this year, reaching 3.1 million in 2008 when Baby Boomers' sons and daughters graduate from high school.

If your child is going to college in the next few years, here's how you benefit:

- Your child stands a better chance of getting into a good school than he or she would have only seven years ago.

"Colleges have had to wake up to the fact that there aren't enough students to fill the available spaces," says Tim Christensen, vice president of planning, development and administration for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

No one knows how many unfilled spaces there may be, since colleges can always cram a few more chairs into a classroom. But like airlines, colleges and universities would rather fill those seats for half price than let them go empty.

Of course, you can't expect a Harvard or a Stanford to be eager to dicker with you over price. On the other hand, says college consultant Howard Greene of Westport, Conn.: "If you're talking about the hundreds of medium- to low-profile schools, it's a buyer's market."

These colleges, which typically rank below the 200 or so most selective ones, are rolling out more pricing innovations than used-car dealers. And increasing numbers of colleges are willing to haggle.

To get the best deal, plot your strategy early and follow these tips:

- Have your child apply to a minimum of six to eight schools, including several on the same academic level. Application fees will add up to a hefty $200 to $400. But financial aid experts say this strategy will increase your child's chances of being accepted by two or more schools of the same type, enabling him to pit one against the other to get a better deal.

It's a good idea to apply to two or more safety schools too. Then, if your child is rejected by her top choices, she can play the same game with her fallbacks.

- Don't jump the gun. Be cautious about applying for an early decision--say, in early November rather than January. It's true that applying early can give your son or daughter a slightly better chance of getting into a school. Colleges accepted more early applicants than ever last year: 100,936 vs. 71,758 in 1991. Most early-decision programs, however, require your child to promise to enroll if accepted, although you can turn down the school's offer if the aid package isn't adequate. That means you lose your bargaining ability.

- On the other hand, do mail your federal financial aid application early. Drop it in the mailbox just after Jan. 1, six months ahead of the deadline. While that won't boost your child's overall aid package, he or she may end up with a smaller loan, which has to be repaid, and a bigger grant, which doesn't.

- Compare aid offers carefully. Acceptance letters typically arrive mid-March to mid-April, with financial aid offers following in a week or two. Read the fine print, stresses Mitchel Messer, managing director of the Academia Group in Atlanta. "For instance, you may get a $10,000 offer from two schools, but one could be mostly a loan and the other may contain a bigger grant."

If you think a top-choice school's offer is too low, appeal. If you want more need-based aid, call the school's financial aid office; for more merit-based aid, which comes out of the school's own funds, call the admissions office.

"The people in admissions are the ones who want your child most," explains Patrick Bellantoni, author of "College Financial Aid Made Easy" (IPG, $16.95).

- Make a direct appeal based on your child's merit. If your family can't qualify for need-based aid, you can still negotiate for more money because of your child's special talents or interests. Ask an admissions officer to whom you should send a letter and when you can expect a response. The letter should restate some key points from your child's application, such as why your child badly wants to attend the school and what his or her many merits are.